Pak SC set to act on petitions against release of Saeed

Islamabad (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court is expected to act on Monday on two petitions challenging the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted by India in connection with the bloody Mumbai attacks.

The two petitions, which were filed by the federal government and the government of Punjab province in the apex court yesterday, would be "numbered" -- a requirement for the matter to be taken up by a bench.

Sources said the office of the apex court's registrar had not "numbered" the petitions. The "numbering" is expected to be done on Monday, they said.

The petitions said the government had "sufficient evidence" of the JuD's links with terrorist groups and that Saeed needed to be detained in view of the security situation in the country, official sources said. It also noted that the UNSC had declared the JuD a terror group and imposed restrictions on it, they added.

The Lahore High Court had freed Saeed and Ahmed saying the government had not been able to provide evidence of their involvement in terrorist activities.

Saeed and Ahmed had been detained by the Punjab government in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance in December last year.

On June 23, a special court in Mumbai issued warrants for the arrest of Saeed and 21 others for alleged involvement in planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.